The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has led to a spike in demand for domestic options available for admissions to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the new academic year.
With parents reluctant to send their wards to colleges outside the State and abroad in view of the prevailing crisis, the rush for admissions to higher educational institutions in the State has gone up, according to an initial assessment.
“We are seeing an increase in demand to the tune of 30% to 40% for all undergraduate and postgraduate programmes compared to the previous year. Parents prefer to admit their children to colleges here in view of the COVID-19 crisis,” said Binoy Joseph, principal, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kalamassery.
Sunish K.S., member of the governing council of Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, and faculty member of the zoology department at the college, said more than 500 aspirants had applied online for various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes after the admission window was opened two days ago. “The demand for postgraduate programmes will go up once the final year results of undergraduate programmes offered by Kerala, Calicut and Mahatma Gandhi universities are published,” he added.
On the hike in intake capacity for the new academic year, Dr. Sunish said each department had made an assessment of the possible increase based on infrastructural and human resources available. “The entire process of admission will be online, except for submission of original certificates for verification before the start of the academic sessions,” he said.
Colleges have started receiving numerous enquiries from parents on admission formalities. Government and aided colleges will go by the directives of the universities concerned, while autonomous colleges, which conduct its own admissions, have already announced the procedures on their websites.
Some autonomous college managements have specifically mentioned that they have not entrusted any agency with the task of offering helpline services on admissions. Parents should contact only authorised helplines, they said.
